The present invention concerns thermal therapy products for warming selected areas of the body to enhance healing or improve comfort.
Thermal therapy products deliver or remove heat for a finite time to a given area once they are activated. Thermal therapy products are used to discourage swelling or to encourage healing after swelling from an injury has receded. They are also used to soothe muscle and joint pain after exercise and for the pain associated with menstruation. These items may also be used to warm a person when chilled and are useful to outdoorsman for outdoor applications.
Previous efforts to deliver thermal therapy have included U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,583 which discloses a drug delivery pad having thermal function with a covering having holes that may be covered and uncovered to control the amount of air reaching the reactive core of the pad. The core reacts with air to produce heat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,479 also provides a heated drug delivery pad in which a tape or similar material may be placed on the side of the pad facing the body, and thus reduce the amount of heat reaching the body by increasing the amount of insulation between about the two. U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,595 provides a transdermal drug patch with heating wherein air-permeable and air impermeable layers with holes may be covered to control the temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,299 provides a heating pad with different sized holes on its opposite sides. The two sides offer the user two different temperatures at which to use the product.
While the above described webs may have performed adequately, they are not as effective or easy to use as may be desired. There remains a need for a thermal therapy product in which the regulation or control of the amount of heat delivery or removal is very simple, easy and effective.